As a licensed California architect since 1992 Steve has dedicated his career to the design and construction of higher education and sport + recreation projects. As LPA’s Director of Higher Education, he has the privilege to collaborate with owners to lead talented teams of architects, designers, and engineers in explorations of discovery that has led to 83 AIA design awards over the last 20 years. Steve’s passion lies in the shared governance process where interaction with owners and operators are paramount to every project’s success. Steve’s developed a skill, perhaps an art, of getting all stakeholders moving in the same direction on a collaborative path. As a former collegiate athlete, Steve is also very passionate about sport and recreation projects. For the last 18 years Steve enjoys donating my time as a volunteer coach and board member as part of a community’s non-profit youth soccer program that services over 4,000 kids annually.

With more than 20 years of experience in the United States and abroad, Franco leads the overall master planning and architectural design of some of LPA’s most challenging projects in the education and healthcare practices. For the last 10 years, Franco has focused his expertise on place-making in campus environments, including corporate, hospital, sport, and education projects. Working directly with LPA’s multidisciplinary team, client representatives, stakeholders and end users, Franco implements an inclusive approach to the design process. This informed design model actively engages all players in a system of evaluation, decision-making and action that leads to innovative planning and design concepts. The consistent application of this approach results in the best solution for each project through compelling ideation, sustainable strategies, and design excellence, as opposed to a “signature style.” Franco’s projects have been recognized with more than 50 national, state and regional awards for demonstrating successful planning and architecture solutions to complex physical, environmental and programmatic drivers.